Former councillor in court charged with making hundreds of indecent images of children

Ian Dolby is alleged to have downloaded hundreds of indecent images of children

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A former Lincolnshire councillor was found to have a "vast quantity" of illegal child abuse images after police searched his home, a court heard.

Ian Dolby, who was a member of North Kesteven District Council until April 2014, was described to the jury at Lincoln Crown Court as having "a rapacious interest" in downloading indecent images from the internet after police found over 700 computer disks at his home in Sleaford.

Martin Hurst, prosecuting, told the jury that 45 of the disks contained images of sexual abuse of children.

The images had been burned onto the disks using a laptop, said Mr Hurst.

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The police search carried out in December 2013 followed the arrest of Dolby's then lodger over a completely unconnected matter.

Mr Hust alleged that officers who initially went to the property discovered photographs of unclothed young girls on the walls and folders containing photographs of young girls.

As a result CID officers were asked to attend and a detailed search was carried out.

Mr Hurst said: "They searched the whole house. They searched in particular Dolby's bedroom and took away quite a lot of things principally electronic devices including a laptop.

"Also in his bedroom they found a very, very substantial library of DVD disks.

"These were DVDs he had made at home. He had burned them from websites he had been visiting on the internet."

Mr Hurst alleged that 45 of the DVDs contained around 180 hours of film of child abuse including 46 hours of the worst category.

He told the jury: "They contained some of the most offensive material that you can imagine. The 45 DVDs contained principally or exclusively indecent images of children. The other 687 were dip-tested. There was a vast quantity of adult pornography.

"When asked if there were any indecent images of children on his laptop he said there was a possibility something may have been downloaded accidentally."

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When Dolby was interviewed he said he tried to make sure that the images he viewed were of girls over the age of 18.

Mr Hurst said: "He made it perfectly clear that he has an interest in looking at sexual pictures of young women. He revealed a rapacious interest in downloading pornography. When he sees something he likes, he burns it onto a DVD."

Police returned to Dolby's home in May 2016 to re-arrest him and charge him for the 2013 matters.

They took away two Samsung tablets which were found to contain over 350 indecent images of children, said Mr Hurst.

Mr Hurst told the jury: "The prosecution say that when you have heard all of the evidence you will be absolutely confident that this man is a paedophile and that is why he has downloaded this and burned it and stored it."

Ian Dolby, 52, of North Road, Sleaford, denies 36 charges of making an indecent image of a child.